The aim of the Go Holiday news blog is to provide daily UK and Worldwide holiday, tourism and travel news, information and comment for consumers and providers.

Thursday, 11 February 2016

UK still in hot demand despite Chinese slowdown

FEARS of an economic slowdown in China, the devaluation of the yuan, and stock market turmoil have grabbed headlines throughout January, raising questions about the demand for luxury goods among Chinese consumers in 2016. But despite these concerns, intelligence from retail tourism specialist Global Blue indicates that demand in China for UK travel is still high.

Although economic growth in China has been the slowest in a decade, people continue to travel and spend in the UK. Market research firm GfK says 109 million Chinese travelled abroad in 2015 – 9 million more than 2014 – and forecasts that this number will grow in 2016, and that by 2020 it will rise to more than 200 million.

Gordon Clark, managing director (UK and Ireland) at Global Blue said: ‘The new two-year visa for Chinese visitors to the UK, which launched in January following a campaign by the UK China Visa Alliance, offers a boosted incentive for shoppers to visit the UK over Paris or Milan.’

The hotspot for Chinese consumers in London is Mayfair, Piccadilly, and St James’s, an area that’s home to two-thirds of the world’s top 100 luxury brands where average transaction values reportedly reach £1,400.Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk